Machine for grinding or finishing corks.



No. 873,498. PATENTED DEC. 10, 1907.

H. F. BUSGH.

MACHINE FOR GRINDING OR FINISHING GORKS. v APPLIOATION FILED we. a. 1901.

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No. 873,498. PATENTED DEC. 10; 1907.

H. P. BUSOH. MACHINE FOR GRINDING 0R FINISHING GORKS.

APPLIOATION IILED AUG. 8. 1907.

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No. 873,498. v

H. F. B'USOH. .MAGHINE FOR GRINDING 0R FINISHING OORKS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1907.

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110,873,498. PATENTED DEG. 10,1907' 4 H. F. BUSCH. I MACHINE FOR GRINDING OR FINISHING GORKS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-- 8, 1907.

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WITNESSES INVENTOR THE NORRIS PETEVRS cc., WASHINGTON, D. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN F. BUSOH, OF MILLVALE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY, OF PITT SBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR GRINDING OR FINISHING CORKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Dec. 10,1907.

Application filed August 8. 1907. Serial No. 387,646.

following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is an end elevation; Fig. 4 is a detail view hereinafter referred to showing a portion of the mechan ism on a larger scale; and Fig. 5 is a detail view showing one of the cork-holding chucks and its carrier or support.

My invention has relation to machines for grinding or finishing corks, and more particularly for grinding or finishing what is known to the trade as hand cut corks which have flat faces and rounded corners.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine of this character which shall be automatic in its operations, and by means of which corks may be rapidly and effectively ground. or finished.

The precise nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which will now be described, it being premised, however, that various changes may be made by those skilled in the art, in the machine as hereinafter shown and described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as de fined in the appended claims.

In these drawings, the numeral 2 designates the supporting frame at the lower portion of which is journaled the main driving shaft 3 having the fast and loose driving pulleys 4 and 5.

6 designates a grinding wheel which is secured to ahorizontal shaft 7 journaled in bearings 8 carried by heads 9 which are arranged to slide vertically in guide-ways 10 of the frame 2. The heads 9 are carried by a frame 11 at the lower portion of which is I journaled an anti-friction wheel 12 which rests upon a cam 13 on the main shaft 3. The grinding face of the wheel 6 has an inner portion or zone 6*, whose surface is covered with an abrasive of relatively coarse character; and an outer portion or zone 6*, whose surface is covered with an abrasive of relatively finer character. The vertical movement of this wheel effected by the reciprocation of the frame 11 under the action of the cam 13 is sufficient to bring both portions of the wheel into contact with the cork to be ground or finished, as hereinafter more fully described. The shaft 7 has fixed thereto a pulley 14 which is driven by a belt 15 from a pulley 16 carried by a shaft 17 which is journaled in a forked arm 18 loosely sleeved or pivoted on the main shaft 3. The shaft 17 is also connected with the shaft 7 by means of an arm or link 19 which is loosely sleeved at its ends upon both said shafts. h The shaft i 17 carries a pulley 20 which is driven by belt 21 from a pulley 22 onthe main shaft 3. Inasmuch as the shaft 17 is wholly supportedby the arms or links 18 and 19, it will be readily seen that the driving connections between the pulley 22 and the pulley 14 will be effectively maintained throughout the entire reciprocating movement of the grinding wheel.

The corks to be ground or finished are fed in any suitable manner into a chute 23 having its lower portion cut away at the-front and sides as indicated at 24, the corks resting in series one upon another. The corks are brought and held to the action of the grinding wheel by means of the two chucks 25 and 26 between which they are grasped. The chuck 25 is mounted in the upper end of a supporting arm 27, the lower portion of which constitutes a slide 28 which is movably seated in a horizontal guide-way 29 of a swinging frame 30. The chuck 26 is carried by a shaft 31 journaled. in bearings 32 in upwardly extending arms of the frame 30. The shaft 31 has a bevel gear wheel 33 which is driven by a similar wheel 34 on a shaft 35 journaled in bearings 36 of the swinging arm 30, and having a bevel pinion 37 at its lower end which is driven by engagement with a bevel gear wheel 38 carried by a horizontal shaft 39. The shaft 39 is driven from a shaft 40 at right angles thereto through the 100 moved into and out of driving connection 105 therewith by a friction clutch member 46 having a cone portion 47 arranged to engage an interiorly-coned surface of the wheel 41. The clutch member 46 is actuated in one direction by a spring 48 through the connec- 110 tion 49, and in the opposite direction by a cam 50 mounted on the shaft 51 which carries the gear wheel 44 before referred to. The chuck-carrying arm 27 above described is arranged to be moved in the slide-way 29 by means of a cam 52 which is also secured to the shaft 51, and which operates said slide through the endwise movable rod or shaft 53, and the forked arm 54 which engages a projection 55 of said slide. A spring 56 on the rod or shaft 53 holds the said rod to the action of the cam 52.

The oscillating frame 30 which supports the cork-holding chucks is actuated by a face cam 57 which engages an anti-friction roller 58 on an arm 59 of said frame. The cam 57 is carried by the shaft 51 before referred to.

'l he operation of the machine is as follows: Assuming that a cork has just been finished, and the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with the grinding wheel 6 at its lowest position, the cam 52 operates the rod 53 and its connections to thereby move the chuck carrier 27 and the chuck 25 sufficiently away from the chuck 26 to release the finished cork. The face cam 57 now operates to move the oscillating frame 30 from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown in dotted lines in said figure,'the cam 52 still holding the chucks separated. When the oscillating frame 30 reaches the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the cam 52 releases the rod 53 and permits the spring 56 to act to move the chuck 25 to grasp the lowermost cork in the feed-chute 23 between the two chucks. 'I he oscillating frame 30 is then swung back by its spring 50 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3. During this out and backward movement of the frame 30, the cam 50 has been holding the clutch member 47 out of driving engagement with the gear wheel 41, so that during these movements, the chuck 26 is not rotated. During these movements, the cam 13 has permitted the grinding wheel carrying-frame to move to its lowest position, so that at the time a new cork is brought into position to be operated upon, it will come into contact with the inner portion 6 of the grinding face of the wheel 6. The cam 50 now releases the clutch member 47, and the spring 48 throws said member into driving engagement whereby the chuck 26 and the cork are rotated to the action of the wheel.

During the time each cork is being ground,

' and as it is rotated by the chucks, the cam 57 operates to oscillate the frame 30 towards and away from the grinding wheel to an extent proportion ate to the increased diagonal dimensions of the cork, these oscillations being timed to occur at the times a corner portion of the cork is brought in contact with the grind ing face of the wheel. This gives it the irregular form which characterizes what is known as hand-cut corks. For this purpose the low portion of the cam 57 is formed with a series of undulations or steps so arranged that the frame 30 will be moved towards and away from the wheel four times for each rotation of the cork. In some cases where the spring 30 is sufliciently light to permit it, positive means for effecting this oscillation of the frame 30 may be dispensed with, and the pressure of the corner portions of the cork against the wheel utilized to force the frame 30 away from the wheel as the cork is rotated to produce this same result.

The advantages of my invention result from the provision of means for effecting the entire cycle of operations automatically, the only manual attention required being to keep the machine in proper running condition, and to see that a proper supply of cork blanks is maintained in the chute 23. The entire machine is simple in its construction and mode of operation, and can be operated at a relatively high speed, so that a large output of finished corks is possible.

It will be obvious that the grinding wheel may be driven while it is reciprocated by other means than those shown; that the gears and connections for actuating the operative parts may be widely changed, and that various other changes can be made in the details of construction and arrangement without affecting my invention.

What I claim is 1. In a cork grinding machine, a reciprocating grinding wheel, means for rotating the wheel as it is reciprocated, and means for bringing and holding the corks to the action of said wheel; and means for permitting the cork-holding means to move towards and away from the wheel while the corks are being ground, substantially as described.

2. In a cork grinding machine, the combination with a rotary reciprocating grinding wheel having its grinding face provided with abrasive portions of difi'erent characters, of an oscillating cork holder, and means for moving the same towards and away from said grinding face; substantially as described.

3. In a cork grinding machine, the combination with a rotary reciprocating grinding wheel having its grinding face provided with inner and outer portions of different characters, of a feed chute for the cork blanks, and a pivoted cork holding device arranged to oscillate between the lower end of the chute and the grinding wheel, and means for period.- ically operating the same; substantially as described.

4. In a cork grinding machine, the combination with a rotary reciprocating grinding wheel, of a feeding device for the cork blanks to be ground, an oscillating frame arranged to move between the feeding device and the grinding Wheel, cork-holding chucks j ournaled in said frame, means for rotating said chucks while the cork is being ground, and means for stopping the rotation of the chucks while the frame is moving from the wheel to the feed device and back; substantially as described.

5. In acork grinding machine, averticallymovable frame, a cam for reciprocating the frame, a grinding wheel ournaled in the frame, means for rotating said wheel during the reciprocation of the frame, an oscillating cork holder having chucks, cam means for oscillating said holder towards and away from the grinding wheel, means for rotating the chucks at definite times and for holding them at rest at other times, and means for moving one of the chucks towards and away from the other; substantially as described.

6. In a cork grinding machine, a recipro- HERMAN F. BUSCH.

Witnesses:

H. M. CoRwrN, GEO. H. PARMELEE. 

